Dreams vs reality
by mushimio92
Summary: Riza was sent into a seemingly eternal Dream where her desires would be materalised.   However, The seemingly perfect world was not reality. Is Riza determined enough to return to her world?
1. Lost

"Lieutenant! Are you alright?"

The colonel shouted as ran towards the form of his fallen subordinate narrowly dodging falling rubble from above. He coughed slightly as the dust settled around him; his hands waved the particles away from his view. _Where is she? _The colonel scanned the debris around him, his heart pounding crazily inside him. The room was in a mess, piles of red bricks lay around him, the walls were beaten in and the ceiling was gone. They were chasing a wanted criminal through the halls of this abandoned castle, if he was more alert, he could have noticed the boxes of dynamite that his perpetrator had set for them, a snap of regret. _This mess was his doing. _

"Where are you?" there was no response from anyone. The wall next to the colonel crumbled, the colonel waved away more of the annoying particles. Within the silence, he heard grunt coming from the where the door once stood. In the dust, a shadow stood.

"Is that you, Hawkeye?" puzzled at the fact, why his lieutenant would not say anything. A few steps more, his eyes widened. The criminal they were chasing came out from the grey cloud; his right arm was bleeding badly however he did not seem to mind. The colonel clenched his fist. _She should be alright, this bastard however… _The second he thought about this and at the same moment, he regretted his words. Behind the criminal, he saw blonde hair and that unmistakable figure lying motionless at his feet. The criminal took no notice the sudden change of the colonel's facial expression, he keeled down. The colonel ponders his actions, should he attack him? But what if the criminal retaliates, this desolated place might collapse on all of them.

"You…" the criminal began slowly, dragging the colonel's split attention back to him. "Shall never see her again…" The colonel gasped as the man retrieved a dagger from his coat pocket and plunge it deep into his skull, he gave the colonel a large grin. The transmutation circle that he used began to glow green, as the engravings on his palms began to bleed. The colonel jumped in his skin, he had to get the lieutenant out of here before the walls fall. He was about to take a step when to his ultimate horror, the ground beneath his subordinate was also glowing green. _What is he doing? _The colonel hesitated for the first time at the wrong time.

"Witness my alchemy, a human sacrifice for a never ending dream…" whispered the frozen criminal who kneels the ground. The colonel rushed forward only to be blown back by the residual power of the transmutation, he stumbled to the floor. "Lieutenant!" he called for her, as a pillar fell in front of his feet. He used his arms to shield him from the stray stones and gravel.

That man fell to the ground, a dagger in the skull. The last of his life drained away into the depths.

Moments later, the colonel was at his lieutenant side, he pulled her into his arms. The engravings on the ground beneath her could not be interpreted, but for now he did not care about anything more than the woman he cradled. She had not opened her eyes ever since the mess he created, nor said a word. The colonel could feel a steady pulse and breathings, however she does not reply to his words. The ceilings above them, many floors away, the warm sun shone into the room. _Is she sleeping?_

"Lieutenant!" The colonel hugs her warm body, praying that maybe she was still existing somewhere.


	2. Mother?

"Riza Onee-chan! Wake up already!" The blinds pulled open forcefully letting warm morning sun bathe the room. The woman under the bed sheets turned away from the blinding light that was peeping through her closed eyes, _Don't wake me, I am having a great dream about fire magic and a rather handsome young man…" _she whimpered from beneath. However the force that pulled opened the window blinds refused to obey, it climbed onto her bed next to her. With no warning, it jumped happily up and down, torturing the springs at the same time. The woman heard the springs crackle uneasily, but she did not budge. Hoping that unresponsive was good enough to make her annoyer leave the room, she buried her head deep into the pillow ignoring the strange force who was bouncing.

"Onee-chan!" she heard the words however she did not expect it to bite her, her eyes flipped open almost immediately upon the gnaw, she pushed her unexpected attacker away from her arm. It fell to the ground bringing the blanket and pillows rolling along, Riza sat up and sighs as she watched the lump perched on the wooden floor. She rubbed her tired eyes furiously, clearing up the remaining blur in her vision. Her sleepy honey colored eye exchange stares with the lump who was smiling. _Basically unaware that she had pushed a button. _Riza yawned; _and she was having the nicest dream ever too…why must she wake now… _Seeing that she had to address her attacker, she pulled her favorite coat from the chair nearby and put on her glasses. She took a closer look at the teeth markings on her arms.

"Hayate, you shouldn't bite me. You know that is rude!" Riza began her preaching. She took a glance from her only alarm clock on the side drawer, there was a hexagram drawn as its background. _A salamander in a hexagram. Now, isn't that cute? _

Riza exchanged looks with her younger sister who sat in the mess of her blankets. She was looking at her older sister curiously at the same time smiling happily. Yup, this is her dearest younger sister whom she loved very much… All of the sudden, her heart skipped a beat. She thought she heard a person calling her. It was that voice in her dream begging her to wake…the scene in front her hazed and returned to normal almost immediately.

_Wait…did she even had a sister?_ Riza stared at the younger girl who looked almost identical to her, their hair color and their eyes were the same. Even the way they fashioned their hair was the same, they were undeniably related however something wasn't right. Riza looked at her surroundings; this is her home…right?

"Oh my, what on earth did you two do in here?" the door opened and a middle aged lady stepped in. She smiled at Riza with unlimited gentleness as she approached them at the same time pulled Hayate off the ground and picked up what was left on the floor and handed them to Riza who was frozen to the bed. Her smooth hands as Riza remembered it, cupped the young blonde's face.

"Riza-chan, did you sleep well today?" she asked sweetly and pecked her forehead. Riza could only stare unbelievably. She knows that voice vaguely, in the dreams Riza used to have every single day after the person who gave her life left it completely, 17 years ago.

"Mo…mother?" Riza stammered.


	3. the ball that rolls

"Does she have any family members?" The doctor exited the operating theater and spoke to a sullen looking man leaning against the wall opposite him. The man had his arms crossed and his cap was covering his eyes, _was he sleeping? _The doctor approached his side cautiously and shook him gently.

The man jerked awake abruptly and noticed the doctor staring, he raised his hands to sweep the windswept hair from his face. "My apologies. No, she doesn't" he answered pertaining to the doctor's prior question. The doctor nodded slowly, _it would be more appropriate to tell this to her own kin. However this was The person who carried the victim here. He was not a stranger, perhaps._

"Excuse me, sir (Noticing the uniform the man was wearing). How are you related to the patient?"

"I am her immediate superior, and also a close friend." The man spoke earnestly while the doctor sized him up. After probably deciding that he was safe, the doctor took a paper out from his large coat pocket.

"The patient suffers from several bruises, couple of broken rib bones and a swollen ankle. There were some burnt wounds as well, and this…" the doctor passed the paper which contained a roughly drawn sketch. The colonel who was pale from the description of his lieutenant injuries turned if possible even paler. He stared at the drawing, which was of a transmutation circle that included a symbol of Libra right in the middle, on its right was a letter C and it's Left an inverted C. It could have been a mistake though; half of the circle was drawn in a lighter shade compared to the other half. "We found this etched into the skin of her left shoulder, it could be a tattoo…but we found it suspicious, thought we show it to you…" the doctor finished half heartedly.

The colonel nodded as his grip on the paper became tighter, _this was that circle that person had performed back in the castle on the lieutenant. If it was truly capable of that kind of alchemy, this is bad…" _

"Thank you, doctor. Have she moved into the ward yet?" the colonel change in tone was surprising; it sounded as though he was relieved. The confused doctor nodded, _this person is strange. A minute ago he was still sounding as though the world had ended and now he is all relaxed. _Doesn't the tattoo scare him a little?

The colonel gave the doctor a small bow and left the scene quickly without speaking another word leaving the latter standing in an empty corridor. _He needed to find someone quickly. _The colonel turned a corner and to his surprise came face to face with exactly the person he was looking for.

"Ah, Colonel Roy Mustang! I had been searching for you, where did you run off to? You are suppose to be resting in your room." The large man exclaimed a bit too loudly when he saw the familiar face of the colonel appear right before his eyes at the same time surprising the other patients who were sitting near the two. The major quieted down when the colonel beckoned him to follow and led the two into an inhabited patient's room.

"I need a favor from you, Major. Can you find the Elric brothers for me?" The colonel asks after closing the door shut. _The Major needed to understand the situation first. _He pulled out the folded piece of sketch from his coat and passed it to the major. The Major's face changed from healthy peach to pale green after hearing the colonel's explanations, "and this is why I need to ask for full metal's help, can you do it?" the colonel finished with his arms crossed. _He had never met with alchemy this strange; a human life was sacrificed just to activate the circle. If they need to talk about equivalent exchange, a human life for an eternal dream. Was it of equal value? _

"Yes sir, I look for them right away!" the major saluted to his superior and left the room though at the same time reminded the colonel to return to his bed as soon as possible.

The ball had finally started to roll; Major Armstrong may be at some point a coward however he understands severity very well. He did not ask for more information and got down to business as soon as possible.

The colonel watched the hem of the major's coat disappear through the doors, "Lieutenant, I will get you back to my side. Wait for me."


	4. Family

"What is the matter dear? Have you been studying too hard again?" her mother asked as she rubbed the top of her head gently. Riza who was held completely speechless looked away immediately; _this was her mother, isn't it? _Her mother smiled at her but moved away to tie the blinds up properly, letting sunlight truly shine into the room. Riza covered her eyes slightly, _was there so much glare before? _Her toes were beginning to numb, she wriggled them and stood up. Her younger sister approached her slowly.

"I am sorry, Onee-chan…about the bite." The younger sister had her head down; Riza patted her head like what older sister usually does. Seeing that she was sorry, it was about time to forgive her as well. She could never hold anger very well against her only sister, they were family after all.

"Breakfast is ready, you two better wash up and come down stairs, ok?" her mother nagged as she left the room closing the door silently.

"Wait! Mother, I am coming down now! Onee-chan better hurry up too!" Her sister left Riza's hug, happy that she was forgiven so easily. She opened the door, and stuck her tongue playfully out at the stunned elder sister. She bounced away leaving Riza standing in the middle of an empty room, she stretched lazily.

Ah, she was still in her sleeping attire. Riza opened her wardrobe and found her school uniform. It _looks like today is going to be different. _She pulled the white top over her and the black skirt that she thoroughly dislikes up. Riza lifted her backpack from the chair, at the same time she gathered some stray books from her table. A piece of paper fell from between two heavy dictionaries, it landed to the floor. Riza picked it up; there were some scrawny handwritten words on them. Riza had to strain her eyes a little just to read.

"Soldiers in blue rushes to the city, all determined to protect what they loved. Even with weapons in their hands, they are willing to kill in the name of peace."

She read the sentence out slowly, it does not make any sense to her. Who were these soldiers in blue? Why must they kill for peace? Killing is wrong! Almost immediately, flashes of lights blinded her vision. The sun was getting a little too bright; she seemed to be in the desert. There was a gun in her hand, her surroundings was a mess of rubble and debris. No one was around, it was all silent and she was all alone. Then she saw it, a pair of red eyes! Her gun clicked, a loud bang was heard. The person fell to the ground; blood was flowing from the bullet wound in his head. Riza looked at her pair of hands, it was beginning to bleed.

"No…NO!" Riza was her room once again; the sun was bathing her in a warm glow. Her heart was pounding furiously; the piece of paper fell from her fingers to the ground. _Did she just kill someone? It can't be she hates violence. There was no way she would shoot a person without thinking! _She slumped into the chair, the throat was dry. Feeling fear, she turned over her hands. No blood. _Was it just a dream? _

She could feel her breathing calming down, her gaze fell upon her cute alarm clock. Oh no! 8.45am already? She jumped up in horror; she was going to be late for school. She threw the paper that she was trying to convince herself came from a history book of something, into the dustbin without taking another look and headed downstairs. _Her family was waiting. _

Riza headed down the steps of her house and found her family waiting at the dining table. Her sister was eyeing the egg sandwiches stacked high in the centre and her mother was in the kitchen, she looked at Riza and smiled. "Onee-chan, sit next to me ok?" her younger sister said as she patted the seat next to her. She had removed her penance stare at the sandwiches and was grinning widely at her sister. Riza sat down, the scare she received moments ago seemed to have disappeared. Her stomach was growling hungrily as well, she took a sip from the cup of orange liquid. _Mother's home made orange juice, the same taste as always. She loved how she made it, not too sweet. _

Riza saw her sister poking the sandwiches, she slapped her hands away. They exchanged glares, _No touching the food until their parents are at the table. _The older one seemed to transmit this message through her stare. _But I am hungry, let me eat! _The younger sister stared back replying to the message. Before a full blown riot could start, their mother stood between them.

"No fighting in the morning, dears." She said calmly and placed more toast bread on the table.

"Darling! Would you come out for breakfast already?" Riza darted her eyes away from her sister as the door to the basement opened. A middle aged man clambered out from the depths; he was in a light shade of grey. _What on earth did he do, bathe in dirt? _Her mother rushed to his side, dusting the dirt off his head. He coughed, and looked at his two daughters sitting at the table. The man peered at his watch and knocked the sides of his head slightly.

"I am sorry dears, daddy is a little off the clock this morning. Why don't you all start eating first?" he groaned and stalked to the toilet nearby, the door snapped shut. Riza mother sighed, she beckoned her kids to eat first when she sat at the table with them and strangely Riza did not eat even though she was hungry. _I should wait for him to come and eat with us. _

Soon, he did arrive at the table, he was about to begin eating his toast when he noticed that Riza's plate was still full. "Don't worry kiddo, you can eat first next time." He grins at her and patted her back. She jumped back in her skin, the clock behind her twitched a little. _Did her father just smile at her? Did he do that before? All she remembered was a father who never looked at her in the face before; he was always buried in mountains of books. My father? _

Riza heart began to beat quickly, _something was wrong here… _But she had no much time to ponder so much. The clock strike 9.30am, Riza pushed the sandwiches in her mouth and washed them down quickly with the orange juice. _Thank goodness she didn't choke. _She thanked her mother for the breakfast and at the same time received a lunch bag from her, Riza ran out of the door only to return seconds later when she realized that her shoes were missing from her feet.

"Take care of yourself, dears." The door closed as the two sisters rushed off, hayate was complaining about her sister lateness all the way. _Geez, she could have left first. Who asked her to wait for me… _they were at the third lane when a sudden shout made both of them pause in surprise.

"Ya hoo! Riza! Are you late today? Me too!" it came from a girl running behind them, her thick hair flying as she sprinted towards them. She was about three feet away from them but she was not stopping yet. "Out of the wayyyy! I can't stop!" Riza sighs again. _How many times did she want to repeat this every single week? _She placed her arms out and stood in front of the rampaging girl.

At the correct moment, Riza swerved to the right. Her left hand grabbed the girl's bag pack and gave it a steady tug. Standing her ground at the same time, the girl pulled back by the forces of Riza's gravity fell to the ground.

"Rebecca Onee-chan! Are you alright?" Hayate shouted in surprise. The girl thick hair seemed to have saved her head from a concussion, she bounced right up. "Yup, I am fine! Thanks to your sister!" Rebecca flashed a smile at Riza who frowned.

"If we didn't do this routine almost every week, you won't be fine." Riza said disapprovingly. Hayate who was shocked began to laugh, Rebecca followed suit. Riza who was half glad that she prevented an injury cracked into a small smile. _Rebecca, a senior who was Riza best friend had a tendency to behave in strange ways, this was one of them. _

The three ladies continued down the lane together as the sun finally rose above the building around them.


	5. Brothers, Colonel, Lieutenant and Team

A train pulled up at the station of resembool, the large clock on the tower states that the time was 12 noon already. The young man who had long golden hair paced up and down the platform edge, _where is that brother of his? _The passengers who were alighting the train was dispersing through the crowds, soon there was no one left. Edward laments in his brain, _maybe Al lied about the train timing. That idiot can't believe he would make me wait during the hottest time of the day. My legs are making the rest of me melt…_

"They are not made out of metal for nothing!" Edward howled scaring the couple kissing near to him to escape to a quieter spot. He collapsed onto the bench and yawned, _Al is going to pay for this. _

"Brother!" the voice that Edward recognized even from a mile away rang out even though it had lost the familiar metallic touches to it. After the rescue during the promised day, Alphonse had returned from the gate in his human body. Their journey that involved the stone had finally ended, but it was only that part of the story which had ended. Anyway, back to the immediate problem.

Edward opened his eyes and adjusts his gaze towards the general direction where the sound was coming from. The sun blinded him for a short while and the older brother covered his eyes using the sleeves of his arms.

"Alphonse, you are finally here. What took you so long?" Edward began what it seemed to be a long lecture, he would have continued if he had noticed a large bulky figure standing behind his brother. He starts to be suspicious, why would that person of all people be here.

"Look who I brought along, brother?" Alphonse chirped happily as his brother approached the two of them. The bulky man held out his muscular arms, "It has been a long time, Edward Elric! How have you been?" the pink and yellow sparkled next to his head.

Edward stood next to him; _it was a good thing that he had grown much taller. _Now he was almost reaching the top half of his chest, Edward extended his right arm and shook the muscular arm. "Major Armstrong, what are you doing here?" he growled suspecting that his visit was more than just being friendly.

Edward was expecting a serious answer but there were no words involved, a moment later he was picked up and embraced within the disgusting muscles. "Ahhh! Let me go, you brute!" Edward yelled. "Don't be a stranger, Edward. Come and feel my hard and toned artistic muscles!" the major (No idea when he became topless) the chest muscles kept jumping in happiness ignoring the protest of the older Elric. The other people who were on the platform were starting to move away, avoiding the weird bulk and its two packages.

After the commotion, Edward was smoothing his messed up hair visibly distraught by the "Monster". Three years had passed since they last saw anyone from the military although Edward was not in any way interested to meet with them again; he was somewhat irritated that the first person he would meet after that long a time was HIM.

"Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric. I need you to come with me to central. It is an order." Edward stared; _it was not like the major to use the Order word, it was more like that person's." _Alphonse caught his brother's drift, "Have something happened, Major?" he asked politely. Somewhere above them, the clock on the tower had strike the first hour.

And without any time to spare, the three of them were on the train heading towards central. Edward felt the engine grinding below his feet, he looked into the horizon. _You bastard of a colonel. You got into some mess again, didn't you. And now the lieutenant was involved. _Alphonse who sat opposite met the eyes of his brother, and strange enough, they thought of probably the same thing. _Our friend is in danger. _

"How is the lieutenant doing?" They had gathered in the lieutenant's room under the orders of their superior, he was sitting in a chair next to the bed when they arrived. The colonel had one hand on her forehead and the other in a water basin; he seemed to be holding a wash cloth. He looked up as his loyal subordinate entered the room; none of them was surprised at his actions, in fact they were all obviously upset.

"Don't look so sullen, she won't be happy if she saw." The colonel said, as he placed a damp wash cloth on her forehead. The lieutenant involved, was lying motionless on the bed, pink in the face. Havoc was about asked why when the colonel replied as though he heard his thoughts. "Medication after effects…she is having a slight fever." He turned away from the woman in the beds and faced his team; he motioned them to have a seat on the sofa. They sat although none of them took their gaze of the colonel's troubled face. "How is the lieutenant doing?" the person who asked earlier decided to ask again, "Falman, she is alright. Her wounds are healing normally, however…" Falman who almost smiled frowned again. "She is not waking". Breda, the large guy sideways in his team put both his hands together, "the effects of the transmutation?"

The rest of the team besides Breda stared, the colonel nodded. He had informed Breda first because he was one who rescued them first when they were trapped in the bottom floors of the castle. He was the only one to see the engravings in the ground beneath the lieutenant body, and therefore understood the colonel perfectly well when he mentioned "Not waking". _The alchemy which brings eternal dreams. _

The colonel was about to explain more when the door to the room opened with considerable force, the team jumped slightly as the young man that they have not seen for three years jumped in, accompanying him was a person who used to be an empty armor. "Brother wait!" Alphonse called to his brother who was several feet away, staring into the colonel's eyes. The dark piercing eyes and the golden ones exchanged glares, "Full metal…" the colonel started, "Does the words Livera and Arevil make any sense to you?" Edward who had half the mind to pound the colonel into bits paused; Livera was a word that he had only seen once in a western alchemy book, "it means desires, what about it?"

Major Armstrong entered the room last, now the room was getting a little too crowded. The colonel lifted his gaze from the full metal and glared at his subordinates who caught his meaning, one by one they left. "We can talk later, Edward. Alphonse too." Kain smiled at the brothers and followed suit. The door closed behind him, Major Armstrong sat down on the just vacated sofa.

"Arevil does not mean anything, brother. Does it?" Alphonse who was thinking of the words piped up quickly noticing the atmosphere had changed rather dramatically. Edward who was thinking about the same thing peered over the shoulders of the colonel, he saw the lieutenant sleeping on the bed behind him. _The lieutenant is a strong woman who could withstand the pains of war; she was a kind person too. The only way she could get hurt like this… _the frustration that he tried to force down appeared again.

"It is your fault isn't it? Colonel?" he spat vehemently at the man he could not stand Seeing Eye to eye with. The colonel heard him, he recoiled slightly. Soon, memories of the events that took place before the collapse replayed before his eyes. If the colonel was a little bit more alert and noticed the boxes, he would not choose the wrong time to light the flames. If he could have reacted sooner to the criminal strange actions, he could have prevented her injuries. If she had not pushed him out of the way at the last moment, he would have been the one who was hurt by the falling debris. The colonel clenched his teeth unnaturally tight.

Edward noticed, he sighs. "Pull it together. "He did not apologized for his stern words however he can tell that the colonel was filled with pain. _No time to push responsibility. _

"Colonel, do you maybe know how the transmutation circle look like?" The colonel stares then pulled the paper out from the side drawer. He passed It to the brothers, Edward eye widened slightly "The Libra scale in the middle, obviously it meant balance between two objects, the symbol of Letter C and the inverted one." The younger Elric traced the words Arevil and Livera. They were repeated many times around the edge of the circle alternating. "Livera is Desires, but Arevil does not make sense. "He muttered under his breath. The colonel held his breath, he had known the Elric brothers for a long time, and they understand the theories of alchemy much better than him. _The gate knowledge is really helpful and those two are geniuses_ in their own way. He heard a groan from behind him; the lieutenant's fever seemed to have become worse. He removed the wash cloth from her forehead and rinsed it with cool water; he replaced it with a new one moments later. _She might be sleeping, but she does respond somehow. That groan was a sign that she was still alive. _

The Elrics sudden shouting brought the colonel back to earth, "That it!" He turned sharply only to have Edward shoving the paper under his nose. "The Libra scale is balance of reality. The symbol C and the inverted C meant the mirror between our world and the other worlds though it is basically the same." "As for the words, Livera definitely means Desires and Arevil…well; there is no meaning to that word in any alchemy books however it may mean the opposite of Desires as if you spell Livera backwards", Alphonse joined in, in his brothers excitement and took a pencil from the drawer and spelled L-I-V-E-R-A, below that word he spelled it backwards, A-R-E-V-I-L. Noticing the shock on Armstrongs and Mustang's faces, he clarified himself more. "Desires are when we humans want something really badly, however too much desires might overwhelm us. That could be the side effects of Desires, the exact opposite of what you wish for."

"It does not make sense, Alphonse…" The colonel spoke out of the sudden. "What does desires have to do with dreams?"

"Dreams?" The two brothers looked at each other then back at the colonel and also to the sleeping lieutenant behind him. _They had only believed the Lieutenant was put into an eternal sleep, no one said anything about dreams. _Looks like the Major seemed to have forgotten to tell them that part.

Major Armstrong came in between them, "I don't know if it is possible, what if this form of alchemy actually can let someone dream of what he or she desires the most. If that dream world is really perfect, wouldn't it be more impossible to leave it?

_The alchemy that brings eternal desired dreams? _

Outside, the rest of the team had their ears placed on the doors, trying their very best to eavesdrop at the conversation inside. _Dreams? _Kain mouthed to Havoc who was two heads away, none of them could understand what was happening inside, feeling somewhat pressed at the ground, he extracted himself from the group. The sun had already set; his thoughts flew back to the lieutenant. It was weird not being nagged at by her, and even more disturbing that they were all here ignoring the pile of work back in headquarters.

"Lieutenant, please be alright… we are worried about you very much…" he whispered softly to himself as the top of the sun disappeared beyond the hills.


	6. Turning point

**Was the update a little too fast? I apologize. Since I feel like I was on a roll, I decided to spend one whole day dedicated to writing more chapters. Hope you all do not find the story boring; I will try my best to keep it interesting. **

**As usual, I appreciate reviews and comment as long as they are constructive ones. Special thanks to ThecrimsonGhost309, You were the first person to give me encouragement. It helped a lot! **

**Now on to the sixth chapter. **

_We are so worried about you, lieutenant… _

Riza blinked a couple of times; _who was worried about her? Lieutenant? _Across the road, Riza saw a person standing. She could not see that person's face, but it was a small figure. There was a dog too, by that person's side. They had a white outline and were glowing, an unknown burst of emotions rushed to her neck as though it was calling her to come to them. Riza heard her best friend and younger sister chatting behind her, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to go to the opposite side of the road. _They two glowing figures are worrying for her…_

"Riza! What are you doing?" The scared shaking voice and the screech of the tires snapped her from her trance. Riza felt someone holding her wrist firmly and pulling her backwards, a moment later she understood why. She had a brush with death; a truck swerved dangerously passed her. The driver stuck out his head and shouted furiously at the blonde haired girl who nearly cost him jail time. The vehicle turned a corner and disappeared, the words that he was throwing was also gone. Riza paused and stares at the opposite side of the road, the two figures were gone.

"Onee-chan, Are you alright?" Her sister cries and hugged the stunned older one. Riza looked down at Hayate's figure that was shaking a lot. She patted her head, _what just happen? Did she almost die? It was not scary to die at all and the glowing people, who are they? _"Riza…What just happened?" She heard her friend but she could not give her a reply. Riza shook her head slowly and removed the arms of her sister who was clamping her waist.

"We…should hurry to school." Was all Riza could say, she walked away from the two people she knew and stalked off. _At that moment that she was so close to death, she saw more people. In a room, a very bulky one sitting on the couch, they seemed to be discussing about something. There was a person lying in bed, she was asleep. Riza could not see any distinct facial features, who are they? _Before she could think any more, she felt a tug on her hem. Hayate had chased up to her and was pulling on it. Her face was full of tears, Riza could understand why _but why does her sister cry? _

At that moment she thought about it, tiny fingers gripped to her own. "Onee-chan, if we hold hands like this, Even if you went to heaven, I am able to follow you." Her sister's words shocked Riza and it was strong enough to knock any thoughts she had about the glowing people far away. "We are family, right?" it could have been the word family that made Riza completely shut off of other stray thoughts, _Hayate-chan, I am so sorry… _She could feel her eyes burn, a single tear fell. Riza bent over to her sister's height and put her arms around the little girl. _How could she have worried her only sister like this? Isn't she the only sister she had? _

Unknown to Riza, her sister was smiling. _The wheels of fate had finally started to move._

**Was this chapter too short? I wanted to have a point where Riza would begin to focus more on her dreamed life instead of the "glowing people". The next few chapters would be more on the colonel instead. **


	7. Confused

"Hold on a minute…" the colonel put up a hand telling the brothers not to discuss further. He approached the door and opened it, his three subordinate who was diligently eavesdropping on their conversation crashed to the floor. Edward sniggered behind the colonel.

"What are three of you doing?" The colonel asks quietly in what they understood as a dangerous voice, the three men separated from each other and stood up quickly, their faces were in deep shade of red and all of their hair messed up, it was obvious they had been pushing each other aside hoping to hear at the door's best spot. They could not look at the colonel for good reasons, _three grown man eavesdropping on the door. How embarrassing. _

The only subordinate who had pulled himself out from the other three stood silently; however he was the first whom the colonel addressed "Here are the keys to the lieutenant home. Black Hayate should be there, bring him to your house. You will care for him for now." The colonel walked past the other three and gave the silver keys to the youngest of his subordinate. _He can trust him with her pet. _Kain saluted before his superior and stride away from his company. The colonel gave a tiny grin; _kain was still young however his ability to understand various situations is remarkable. _After watching the youngest of his troop turn a corner, he turned back to the other three. "Havoc, Falman and Breda, I got a favor to ask of you…"

The colonel returned to the room. _Now the extras have gone away, time to get down to business. _He approached his sleeping lieutenant and pulled the collar of her hospital gown down slightly revealing the flesh of her left shoulder. "Colonel, what are you doing?" Edward grabbed the colonel's arm firmly as he shouted alarmingly. Obvious in his mind, he believed the colonel had lost a screw in his brain. _You can't touch the lieutenant like this! _Alphonse who was standing by his brother, gasped loudly. Though he was initially shocked by the colonel's action, the feeling now was taken by horror as his gaze fell upon the green tattoo engraved onto the shoulder. _A transmutation circle! _Edward who had not let go of the colonel's arm released his grip slightly and traced the line of sight down to Mustang's fingers. His eyes widened in pure terror when he saw what was at the end_. _"What is that thing?" Edward whispered though his voice was shaking, the colonel removed his arms from Full metal's grasp.

The Major who had been seating quietly in a chair nearby stood up and intercepted their conversation. "The doctors who were treating her wounds discovered it and brought the issue to our attention, they emphasized the point that it was _pulsating _as if it was mimicking the beating of a heart. We never thought alchemy could leave an imprint on a living being though…"

"It can't possibly have, alchemy does not leave obvious markings. After any transmutation is performed, the drawings that were drawn would just fade away, and the catalyst that was used too would just become another object of equal value…"Alphonse injected in the Major's words but he paused, _a human catalyst was used and _only one type of alchemy uses humans, "Shut up, Al!" an angry voice snapped through the room, Al's thoughts dissipated, his brother was thinking about the same thing as well. His brothers' eyes met his own, Edward shook his head slightly "you are confused, this isn't human transmutation…"

"We aren't talking about the markings made during the transmutation; the circle is imprinted to a human being after the alchemy was performed even if the alchemy requires a human to die does not make it the same as what we tried to do before. It just means that the lieutenant gained something of equal value…"

The colonel who had just replaced another damp washcloth for the lieutenant breathed deeply, he had been listening to the two Elrics talk however their priorities are wrong. "I understand the laws well enough and I do not need you two to repeat what I already know. I just need to know if you can find a way bring her back to our world. The tattoo is not of concern since it does not hurt her but I believe it may be a clue. " he emphasized as he looks at the Major who nodded slowly. "Therefore I showed it to the both of you hoping it may help. NOT to ask you how it was formed." He finished the sentence with a slight growl. Alphonse looked away at his words.

"What do you mean bring her back to our world?" the washcloth that was on the lieutenant forehead slide off slowly, Edward flew into a rage that even Alphonse who was stunned by the colonel words could understand. The younger Elric stared at his brother, "We can't bring her back with our own means! The lieutenant is in an eternal dream casted by alchemy that uses human life as a price, no matter what we do we have nothing that is of equal value to a human life that was lost!" _There was nothing in the world that balances a human life not even another. Not one not even two. He understand that very well, that foolish thought he believed once a long time ago…no way it's happening again! _

Finally, the Major approached the colonel; he placed a hand on his shoulders. "Sir, I know what you are thinking, but her neither body nor soul is within the gate! This is beyond the boundaries of alchemy exchanges, Edward is right; there is nothing we can do to pull her back. The lieutenant will have to realize that she is in a dream and come back herself eventually." Alphonse looked up at the colonel who had his back facing them. _Was he already thinking of sacrificing his own abilities to do alchemy just like what Edward did in order to bypass that law? _But the lieutenant isn't at the gate; Alphonse peered over to the bed where the colonel stood over the sleeping woman. _The lieutenant body was here, and her soul in the dream world. The gate is not involved. _

Unknown to everyone else who were in the room, several drops were sliding down the colonel's face. _The gate is not involved. _The palm on his shoulders was warm but his own was cold, was the lieutenant always this peaceful when she sleeps? In his mind, theories of alchemy he knew were rushing from his memories, but all of which useless. Even the brothers who were his last hope extinguished the flames in his heart, is the lieutenant lost to him forever?


	8. From him to her

Morning came as quickly as we bid Night goodbye, in a blink of an eye dawn had arrived peeping through the white curtains shining its glow into the dark and gloomy peach colored lobby. The patients of central hospital were in their beds, sleeping through their wounds and injuries. Personnel of the various departments had not come to work just yet so the environment was a quiet as it could be. However, on the third level of the wards though, a person was walking down the corridor alone. The tall person scratched the top of his head and wondered into the room two doors away. The door opened and he admitted himself into the room, he closed the door quietly and walked towards another person lying in the bed. He noticed that the basin on the side drawer was already Luke warm, leaving his black coat on the chair he went away to the adjacent bathroom so that he could change the water. He returned minutes later and felt the forehead of the patient sleeping peacefully. It was still feverish, he took the washcloth and dabbed it gently on her face trying his best not to get water into her nose or eyes. The after effects of the medication had not went away even after one night, was it normal? He stroked her hair and shifted her fringe to the side, at the same time he wiped her neck with a newly rinsed cloth. The more he did so, the warmer the water in the basin became. This person is very sick, but it does not bother her that she was having a fever; she could still _sleep so well. _

The person plops down to the chair next to her bed and gave a slight yawn; he could never sleep as well as she does. He threw the cloth into the basin and stared at the space in front of the bed. A few hours ago, there were three people standing there discussing. The full metal and his brother and major as well, they were talking about alchemy and the older brat who used to be a shrimp hit him in the face. The person gave a sigh and felt his jaw still aching from that punch. _But he deserved it. _He stared at the empty space and back to the sleeping woman, "wouldn't you like to see that scene, lieutenant?" He gave a small grin and placed his hands over her hands and gave it a small rub. Her hands were still warm, that is good news isn't it? The grin he had slide off his face as he remembers more of the scene that had took place with the Elric brothers.

_PUNCH! The colonel stumbled backwards in shock, his gaze landed on Alphonse who had just rammed a fist into his jaw. The older Elric yelped alarmingly as he pulled back his brother by the chest, holding him back firmly. "No way! It is not possible to do soul attachment to souls that are not at the gate! Hers is in dream; we don't even know where that place truly is."Edward nearly let go of his brother, he glares at the colonel but was taken aback that he had tears running down his face. "How can you think of soul attachment, colonel? So…what are you going to give in return? An Arm; just like me?" Edward asked calmly as he released his brother from his grasp. Major Armstrong who was standing behind the colonel shifted his gaze to the colonel who had not retaliated or said a word since the jaw shaking injury… _

The man opened his eyes slowly; he was still sitting on the chair. An elbow on the bed and a hand holding the sleeping woman's ones, he heard some noises outside the corridor. The colonel turned to look at the time from a clock hanging on the wall. 8 Am already, the people must be awake. He had better get back to his own room before the nurses start to think that he went missing again. He stood up and reached over to his lieutenant blonde hair, without thinking much he bent over and nuzzled it, "Maybe you should not see it at all; you might shoot me in the head." He whispers.

The colonel stood up and was about to pass the bathroom when he saw a stray pillow lying on the floor as though it had been through a fight. He picked it up and returned it to the sofa although he noticed that this pillow had a tear in it and its stuffing was falling out.

"_Roy Mustang, the lieutenant will not be happy to see the way you are behaving right now." It was first time he heard the Major saying his name, this goes to show that the Major too was not happy. He looked at the man who used to be a joyful character; he was frowning so badly that for the first time, the sparkles near his head had disappeared. Without warning, the major had picked up a pillow from the sofa and threw it at the colonel's head painfully hard, even though pillows were supposed to be soft. To his amazement "What did you do that for, major?" He yelled rubbing the top of his head. At the same time, he received another punch in the gut by the older Elric. "This is for you from the lieutenant!" The colonel collapsed to the sofa, what just happened? His head seemed to have gotten a million times clearer, he had only mouthed the word Soul attachment to himself when the first punch knocked the wind out from his body, and it was true that he was thinking of the possibility… Without looking at his attackers, he gripped the corners of the pillow too tightly; the seams seemed to have come off… _

"I am very sorry…I wasn't thinking properly." the colonel muttered and he placed the sad pillow back to the sofa. With those words and realization, he left the room.

"Wish I had my alchemy back, I could have squashed the colonel into minced meat…" Edward lamented as he entered the hospital lobby once again. Alphonse had been really quiet since the incident and he had refused to eat when they went back to the hotel last night as well. Seeing that his brother was still upset, Edward patted him on the head "Don't worry so much, you won't get court martial for hitting the bastard of a colonel in the face." Alphonse shook his head; it was not that that was he was worrying about. "Brother, what if he really does soul attachment on the lieutenant?" Finally, he could spit out his words. The older brother turned away and gave a sigh. "No, he wouldn't." Noticing that his younger brother was not satisfied at his answer, he clarified himself. "Didn't you notice his tears? Those were tears of guilt. I am sure of it, he was only thinking about soul attachment because he was desperate to get the lieutenant back."

They entered the lift, Alphonse lowered his voice. "I wonder why…" Edward cracked into a wide grin, "Why he is so desperate? That is because he loves the lieutenant." Alphonse nearly choked in his milk tea that he was drinking, but some liquid went down the wrong tube. He started to cough uncontrollably, the elderly man twitched uncomfortably behind him. _Colonel Mustang lo..loves Lieutenant Hawkeye? _Edward looked at his younger brother's face which was in deep shade of pink, he shakes his head grinning. _Wasn't it obvious enough? _They exited the lift with Alphonse still trying to apologize to the elderly man. But before he could get his breath back, the metal doors closed shut. Edward burst out laughing, "You look like a tomato, Al!" Alphonse however, was not looking at his brother any more. He did not expect to see him this coincidently.

Edward turned around and found himself looking at the face of the colonel, "Yo, Full metal…"

The colonel led the brothers to some chairs outside his own room, the three of them sat down. Alphonse though lingered before him, "Colonel, I am sorry about last night." He said softly. The colonel who had already rested in his cocked his head to one side then shook it, "It is alright, and I deserved it." He patted the seat next to him, indicating that he should sit. Alphonse sat uncomfortably, not exactly sure if he was forgiven. "Relax; I understand why you would hit me." The golden eyes glance at the dark ones, _Soul attachment have a close relationship to Alphonse as he was once an empty suit of armor with a blood seal that was attaching his soul to this world. But it was not something that last forever; after all, the soul is always attracted to the body it came from. It will eventually reject the object. More importantly, it felt that you weren't human. _

"Don't glare at me, Edward… I am not planning to do any alchemy regarding to the lieutenant any longer; she would shoot me if she knew. This was one of the few times that Edward believed the colonel could see with the back of his eyes, even though he was looking at Alphonse, he could even tell that Edward was shooting glares behind his back. Minutes passed, and then the colonel spoke once more "Where is Major Armstrong? Didn't you boys stay at his house last night?" The sentence brought chills down Edwards's spine and blew cold air down Alphonse's gut, after the short confrontation between the colonel, Major and the brothers. A lot of things happened…

"_It is getting late, boys. Do you somewhere to stay tonight?" The colonel asks while looking at the Major. Alphonse was about to say something when the Major rips off his shirt and declared that the brothers could stay at his place tonight, the sparkles returned to the sides of his head as he squeezed his muscles, insisting that Both Elrics must agree to his generosity. Much to Edward dislikes, but no matter what he said or tried to use as excuses, they were hauled off to the Armstrong mansion eventually. Encountering the family of freaks and a strangely normal looking younger sister, they stayed in a hotel like house anyway. _

"Colonel, you bastard! You were the one who requested the major to take us in, isn't it?" Edward flew into a rage, but the colonel ignored him. Soon enough, a nurse from one of the room came out and scolded Edward for making so much noise. To the happiness of the colonel and the embarrassment of Alphonse, it took almost over 10 minutes for Edward to calm down, but when he did. His stomach began growling and so did the colonel's. "You have not eaten?" The colonel shook his head. Alphonse dug into his bag and pulled out a rather large chicken sandwich and a bottle of homemade orange juice, he handed them to the colonel and smiled. "Major Armstrong instructed us to pass these to you, and this is from General Armstrong." He pressed a piece of paper into the colonel's hand. The colonel read it and grinned a little. _How did she know that I was about to refuse…_

"You had better eat; moron. Lieutenant Hawkeye happens to be one of my favorite soldiers, if you can't take care of her properly. I would bring her to the north away from you immediately." _Forget it; I am not letting you take her anywhere. She is mine…my lieutenant…_The colonel accepted both the gift and the threat; he glanced at the Elric brothers. _They came today to make sure that I was alright, didn't they? _

"Edward, there is nothing to do in a plain hospital. Why don't you visit the others as well; since you are here in central?"

Alphonse looked at his brother eagerly; they hadn't talked to Falman and the rest of Mustang's team ever since meeting them last night. They could head to central headquarters first, and then visit sheska, Mrs Hughes and elysia too. Edward noticed his brother excited expression and sighs; he looked back to the colonel. _Looks like he can't be keeping tabs on the colonel today. _He was worried that the colonel would do something unthinkable, even though he told Alphonse that he would not, but the colonel have lost control before. "Yeah, Al. We can visit them." He ignored the following cheers of joy and approached the colonel, he glares at the colonel and the man does the same. "Don't make any mistakes or I will shove this hand down your throat." The colonel nodded curtly. But before he could say any more, Alphonse pulled his brother away by his arm joyfully.

"Colonel Mustang! We will come back this evening!" the younger brother called to the colonel as they disappeared away down the corridor. The colonel was left on the row empty chair, a sandwich in one hand and the bottle of juice sitting on the just vacated seat on his left. Feeling a little out of the water, he grabbed his breakfast and made his way to the lieutenant's room.

He entered the room that he vacated an hour ago, nothing had changed. The basin of water was of room temperature and the woman was still sleeping peacefully. He placed the sandwich on her side drawer and went to the bathroom; he came out moments later with a cup. He sat down next to his lieutenant, and held her hand once again. _He had always wanted to hold her hands in this manner several times before, but he was afraid that he would be shot. _How silly was it, to finally understanding his true feelings after such a long while and to show it only when she was injured.

_Colonel! Get out of the way! His lieutenant shouted through the falling rubble, he glanced up just in time to see a large remnant coming down on him. He thought it would be the last sight he would see, and fearing that lighting fire in such a small environment would make the whole place collapse even faster. He was about to let fate settle him, when he felt a shove from his side. He opened his eyes only to see the honey colored eyes with tears disappear behind falling rocks, while he was pushed away. He understood that glare very well; it was scolding him; for giving up so easily. The shock hit him in the skull, what was wrong with him that day? And it was first time he saw her tears…I am so sorry…_

The colonel ricochet from his memories, the hands holding hers began to tremble uncontrollably. It tightened considerably; as he spoke his words too were shaking. "The full metal brat came to visit last night and so did Alphonse, they were worried about you very much. Kain went to get Black Hayate from your house, but he said that the puppy was whining the whole night; he was probably worried about his mistress too. I sent Breda and the rest back to the office, they would be able to get the work in headquarters done quickly and properly so you don't have trouble yourself when you get back here." The colonel almost choked at the last few words, deep inside he was apprehensive. _Will she be able to get back here on her own? _The colonel did not share a deep bond with his lieutenant for nothing; he knew what her desired dream would be like. It would be peaceful, just like how she liked it before the hell in Ishval started. And she would surely be in school; that_ is where she would be, if she was not a soldier. _

The colonel let go of her hands for a while, and grabbed his breakfast from the table. _Will you really blame me, if I used alchemy to bring you back here? _He was about to put the sandwich in his mouth before placing them down once again, his appetite seemed to have slipped away. He could not bear it any longer; he took her hands and placed it on his own chest right above where his heart was at.

_Don't make me lose my mind! Lieutenant! I want you back by my side as soon as possible, I am thinking of all the possible alchemy methods, all the laws that I know I should not break including the one about human transmutation. I don't know how it would help, but I could not help but think. There is nothing I can do to help you over here! It is frustrating! _

"I am really useless this time…aren't I?" he whispers sorrowfully and kissed her gently on her forehead. If she could feel his heart beat at that very moment, it was slow yet strong. Just like just his feelings for her all this while.

_I need you, Riza…_


	9. Life and ending?

**Dear online friends / authors / accidental readers; **

**I am sure I had not done a very good job so far but I was extremely pleased with the numbers of views and reviews that came in. **

**I appreciate your words and your love for this story even though it would end very soon; I hope that most of you would read till the end. **

**Special thanks to Thieving Alchemist and TheCrimsonGhost309 for everything from reviews to encouragement. **

**Please do enjoy the rest of the story; now, on to chapter 9! **

_I need you…Riza. _

That same voice was calling for her again; it seemed to be a voice of a man. She had heard it during her sleep this morning; it sounded deep and was filled with immense sadness. _Where is it coming from? And why does her heart ache whenever she hears it. _Almost immediately, pictures flew by her mind; a man was holding a woman's hand to his heart, his own hand was trembling but it does not bother the sleeping woman lying peacefully on the bed. Riza was now right beside the shaking man, _who is this person filled with guilt and anguish? _She needed to comfort him; it was her _duty _to do so. She reached out her hand towards his broad shoulders…

"Riza, why are you standing at the door?" Riza woke to the words; she was indeed standing at the door to her classroom with her arm in the same position in her daydream. And the person who had spoken to her was standing haughtily in front of her. Her arms fell to her side as the scene she was thinking about disappeared to the back of her when she realized she had come face to face with the class monitor (Monster Maria Ross). Riza stared blankly; her gaze fell upon the watch that Miss perfect Ross had shoved under her nose.

12.01pm, oh no, she was one minute late again. Riza peered behind the scary girl and noticed that the homeroom teacher had not reached yet, she heaved a sigh of relief though she had settle the immediate problem first, Riza turned back to the class monitor who was half threatening to write her name into her blacklist book and glanced into the class room, two tables from the front and noticed that it was empty. Taking the opportunity, Riza stepped into the room.

"Where is Denny?" she asked calmly and closed the door behind her, the pen from Maria fingers dropped to the floor upon hearing the name. _Maria has a crush on Denny, even the mention of his name could give her short term memory loss. _And sure enough, Maria was stammering the next few words pink the face "How the hell would I know where he was, it is not...like I would be worried or anything."

"Right…" Riza smiled, she glided across the embarrassment of the Class monitor and step into the classroom, Maria did not stop her instead she had pulled open the door herself and was sticking her head out into the empty corridor looking for the person mentioned, _not worried? She was lying to herself. _Riza skated through the rows of seat and approached her own desk; she had just placed her bag pack on the ground when a loud crash rang out. She glanced to the door smirking to herself, the reason was pretty was obvious. Denny who had sprinted to the class room had landed on Maria who was at the door, several girls' screamed; visibility upset while the boys cheered; obviously happy. Denny had literally pinned the all and mighty class room monster to the ground.

Riza was not surprised at the strange blend of emotions from both sides after all most of the girls in the class idolized that silly clown while the boys who were jealous of Denny were finally glad that he had seemed to made a choice finally. "What are you doing? Get off of me now." Ross said in a strangely soft tone, she was also blushing slightly though still pissed. Denny removed himself from her grasp which he believed was about to strangle him and stood up, pink in the face. Instead of disappearing into the crowd which he usually does, he put out his hand as though wanting the fallen monitor to take it. "Sorry, are you hurt?" Maria who was in shade of red from embarrassment stared, slowly she took his extending hand. Riza smiled; _don't you think it is about time?_

Her gaze left the two soon to be couple; _wouldn't it be nice to be able to feel love as well? _ Riza closed her eyes deciding that maybe she should rest for a little while since the home room teacher was not here anyway. She stared at the black board in front of her; chemistry lesson is the first period. _What a boring lesson, she can't wait to get to her Archery club later in the day, she loved to aim. That feeling to hitting the target is a joyful feeling. It was shooting without blood on her hands, almost immediately she felt warm around her head, she was watching a person who had long black hair and a rather distinct bosom walking out from the white doors. A homunculus with such a cunning and devious face smiled at her "I will send you to where the colonel is right now" at her words, Riza felt terrible pain in her heart, it felt as though her whole world was stolen away from her, a person that she would never see again. She pulled out the weapons that she had on hand, Bang! Bang! Bang! _

Riza woke in shock both from what she had just seen; beads of sweat were forming on her palms. _She had shot another person again! _Riza rubbed her eyes furiously and was surprised that there were tears on them, _she was crying? Why was she killing people for no apparent reason? The glowing people that nearly let a straight path to death just a few hours ago and that person calling for her! _Riza clenched her teeth awfully tight; she had a palm over her heart though. _And why was so bothered by all this hallucination? _

The home room teacher was unusually late this afternoon; she looked around at her classmate. Denny and Ross seemed to have took their conversation away from prying listeners to the corner of the room, Denny seemed to be trying his best to explain something while Maria was looking at him earnestly blushing as she encouraged him to spit the three words out. The large man Breda who looked like a hardened bully was playing a tamed game of chess with his companions' three rows away from her, the walking dictionary Falman and bookworm Sheska was at the shelves deep in thought as they were skimming through volumes of history books. _Nothing was out of the ordinary neither in her life nor her friends; it was probably something bad that she ate last night. Tomorrow the glowing people would go away, please go away… _Riza was in amidst her prayers when she heard the door slide open once more; the class went strangely silent and still as a person whom they had only seen once during induction day stride in casually through those doors. Almost everyone returned to their seats and dropped all of this conversation into the void if possible.

The Dean; King Bradley smiled at them warmly as he addressed the class, "Sorry for taking so long, I was having a little chat with your homeroom teacher and forgotten the time." Mr Shou Tucker their eccentric homeroom teacher fumbled into the room from behind, Riza wonders if it was only a little chat as he looked liked be had been through one long drive through Bradley hellish lectures. She heard Edward Elric snigger loudly at the windswept teacher; no one enjoyed the company of this weird teacher even though his daughter was actually very adorable. The four year old Nina had just turned five yesterday, Riza was wondering how she had celebrated her birthday when Dean Bradley cleared his throat, "Now, let us not waste time. Roy; you can come in now…"

A boy who had dark messy hair and the same cold piercing eyes entered the class room; he was donning a long coat and had a white scarf around his neck. _It was a rather strange dressing. _His face was initially expressionless as peered at his new classmates as if they were some uninteresting specimen of fishes and merely scanned their shocked faces; though his glance lingered a few more minutes on the blonde haired girl sitting next to the far window. Riza stared back though she knew it was rude, _Roy? Mustang…? _It sounded like a surname she had just made up however it just sounded right and suitable for a mysterious person like him. _It was familiar too, she imagined a close friend waving to her even though she had no idea who that friend was she waved back, yes. It was this type of curious feeling. _She turned away from the boy and glanced out to the window, a blue bird had just landed out on the window stile. _It is calling me again… she was behind a tall person who had an untidy hair; he was talking to her while waving his arms around as though he was an excited actor. He was wearing a glove that had a bizarre drawing on it; there was a typical flame symbol right at the top. Where did she see that before? _

The wave of queer of whispers brought Riza back out from her food poisoning hallucination, she turned around only to find herself staring into a dark coat. She looked at the saw the new transfer student grinning at her, _what? Was she funny looking or something?_ The class had broken away from their held silence and was putting their head together discussing about the dark haired odd ball, the young boy spoke in a rather childish tone unsuited from his apparent age "I want the table behind her" and points to the empty table behind Riza. The whispers became intense mutterings, _so quick to hit on the cleverest girl already? _Riza was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable; however she did not show it instead she glared back. "_Oh oh, she is going to whack him!" Said a voice, "No she wouldn't; the dean and the teacher are both around, assurance from another". _

"Alright then, Miss Hawkeye. Would you bring this Mr Mustang around the school campus later?" Riza eyes widened, _no way, his surname is exactly as what she had thought. _Even though it was a pleasant surprise, _she have little intention to be near this weird person. _But she caught the Dean's overly kind and hopeful grin, she admitted defeat to her annoyance. She nodded slowly though still glaring fiercely at Roy, _why wouldn't he look away already? She was never looked at by a boy for more than 3 minutes, they were afraid of her anyway, but this person was looking in such a bizarre interest, it was not natural at all. _"Good" she heard the dean approval somewhere far away. He gave Shou Tucker a nod and walked out, leaving the class hanging in mid air; most was unaware that he had exited; they were audiences to the situation between the Hawkeye and the Mustang. It was only until Roy removed his penance stare and took his seat when the atmosphere returned to normal; he left Riza shell shocked, _what just happened? She was intimidated by him and was for the first time slightly afraid. His name was a friendly wave but his behavior scared her a little, it does not seem to tally with her initial intuition. _

Chemistry lesson was a little overly subdued, Shou Tucker was droning about Chemical processes. How two elements adjust the structure of its molecules to combine and form a compound that was of the same mass and value. But even he could tell that the class attention was even more distracted compared to other days, and the cause was, he adjusted his frame and threw his glances at his dark and blonde haired students_, the Dean had only mentioned that this boy was the key for their success. What success? _He watched in disapproval, as the boy whose name was Roy kicked the chair in front of him while Hawkeye's face was contorted with contained rage. The class was having a live action movie at the moment, he was about to finish up his chapter when the bell rang. Wanting no part in the awaiting conflict that was sure to happen, Shou Tucker left the room silently. (What a coward just like his anime character). Maria Ross leaned to her right and tugged the hem of Denny's sleeves, he understood her meaning, and both stood up at the same time and headed to the door, which brought the rest of the students back to reality. One by one, they left the room; Sheska closed the door slowly behind her, _would Riza murder him? _She shuddered as the door snapped shut; she bounced away with her friends, hoping that they would not return to a scene of blood. 

Riza who had been tolerating the kicks on her chair of a while now snapped, "Have I offended you?" her voice and body was trembling, _this person was too strange! He is rude and childish and a hopeless odd ball…_Riza was staring at the empty seats in front her, fearing that peering into his eyes would show the truth; that she was shaking because she was somewhat afraid of him. _This is not how Roy mustang was, though not understanding why she said so since she does not know of any person with the same name before. _

"I love you…" **What? **

Riza had to turn around; she could not believe what she just heard only to twitch in surprise at what she saw. Roy was holding a single pink rose in between his fingers and was looking at her in a serious face as though he really meant what he said. _What is going on?_

**Back in the real world, Colonel Mustang had just received an urgent call from Edward. **

"I just realize what the tattoo on the lieutenant shoulder could really mean!" Edward shouted across the phone.

"Edward, would you please not shout? I am not deaf." He replied though a bit giddy from the state he was in, _he should not have slept in a single position for 3 hours; blood must have drained from his brain. _He had fallen asleep next to the lieutenant with his head bent; on her bed, it caused his neck to be in dire pain. The colonel had, picked up the receiver in a sleepy state and was not at all pleased at the tone which Edward was using.

Edward who ignored the colonel continued "I just remembered the ouroboros tattoo, when Greed had taken over Lin yao's body, I mean Emperor Yao; that tattoo appeared on his hand. It may be a wild guess here, but I believe that the green circle on her shoulder was indicating that something had invaded the lieutenant!" The last few words entered the colonel's ears; all of the pain in his neck receded. _Invaded? _He heard the receiver on the other end pulled away from Edward, Alphonse began to talk rapidly as well.

"Sir, it may not be a desired dream after all. The alchemy is trying to force the lieutenant to stay in the dream however the people or objects within the dream is only taking the appearance of what she wants to see the most, they can't cross time. One day, they would all just disappear. And if the lieutenant is convinced that staying in the dream would let her stay with the people she loves the most, she would disappear as well!" the colonel pounded the wall next to him, but before he could say another word, the receiver was taken forcefully away. Edward's exasperated voice rang out. _Stop snatching the phone already!_

"This transmutation is flawed, the Symbol C and the Inverted one was to join and become a symbol O instead! In the many books I had read on my travels, Symbol C had no meaning but O however is widely recognized as the representation of time. A circle such as a letter O would mean that time could flow forever in that path, but now since the Circle is broken, time within the dream would never move. And as such, the people and objects which were form; just as what Al explained earlier, would disappear into nothing after a while. And so will the lieutenant if she continues to stay in it, you got to persuade her to leave that world!" _persuade her? _The colonel's jaw jumped slightly and he cocked his head to one side, "I don't understand you? How do I exactly persuade her…?"

He heard the older brother Tsk loudly; obviously irritated at the colonel's stupidity. However the receiver was taken away again, the colonel pressed his ears closer. The whole situation was rather tensed, he had not breathed properly ever since answering the call. He did not want to risk and pull away from the phone in case he would miss something important. _Who was going to talk to him now? _He waited with batted breath.

"Colonel? Didn't you understand what Ed meant by flawed?" _behind in the back ground, the colonel could hear Edward shouting "Winry! Give me back the phone!" _ Winry Elric sighed when there was no reply, "It means that she can hear you if you spoke to her, especially you!" Winry's calm voice cracked "Don't you ever let her down, I am sure she wants to return to your side one way or another. Talk to her and treasure every word, if it is sincere enough, she will wake up! You Moron!" The colonel thought he heard a sob, _Enough, Ed. He knows what to do now, you have already said enough. We do not have to baby sit him. _She was talking to Edward, without another word she hung up.

Mustang's team, Major and General Armstrong, Edward and Alphonse stared at Winry who had just hung up the phone. Breda sighs "I hope he knows what to do, that was an abrupt ending."

Falman and kain slouched in the sofa without speaking. They had gathered at Mrs Hughes house for that night, Winry arrived to central an hour ago after speaking to Edward over the phone. She too was worried about the lieutenant.

Havoc stood in the corner, he was looking at the darkened sky "Colonel, you better bring the lieutenant back to our side."

"But why only the colonel? We could have all spoken to the lieutenant as well" Major Armstrong posts the question to the floor. His sister threw him a wicked glare and whacked him in the knee using the blunt side of her Sword, "Baka! His relationship with the lieutenant is stronger compared to the rest of us, it is most appropriate and likely that she would only wake with his words." She turned away from his laggard of a brother and peered over to the Elrics.

Edward nodded "To call someone soul back; regardless from where, you need a great deal of emotions and a strong will." He glanced at his younger brother. _That was how he pulled back his brother's soul; he could not lose him because he was his only brother. Relationship and ties between two people are the ingredients of a strong will. _

"I don't understand something, why did you call him a moron…" Edward asks as his caught the glimpse of winry's tear stricken face. He patted her head gently, "I have no idea, for dramatic effects, I guess…" Her answer caught Edward by surprise; she gave a half giggle while the Mustang's team laughed out when they heard her answer. General Armstrong smirked; even Alphonse had his hand to his mouth trying to stifle a snort. _Ah, winry… _

The colonel dropped the phone and rushed to the lieutenant room, _Moron? That is the second time in a single day. _He ran down the corridor and opened the door to her room; the colonel was half expecting to see no one in the bed. _The lieutenant would disappear too! _But the woman was still sleeping in her bed, uncaring about the colonel's windswept hair or his unkempt look. He gave a sigh; went over to the lieutenant side and plopped down on the chair. _He could call her back without alchemy; the flame flickered back on once again. _He put her hands between his but was surprised that they were cold, hoping it wasn't a sign that she was disappearing. He placed his lips on back on her hand, _what can I say in order to persuade you, you were never a person who would fall for a persuasion. Not mine anyway. _He blew his warm breath on the skin of her hands. Several minutes passed…and he grinned…

"Do you remember quite a long time ago? I asked you a theoretical question about the possibly of us getting married, you threw that eraser in my face and I discarded it after being slightly angry? Look what I have here?" he pulled out the eraser from his pocket and placed it on her palm. "I went looking in the bin for it and kept it all this time, It is to remind me that the next time I ask a question as stupid as that, I should have prepared a ring to go with it to show you how determined I was." He grabbed her hands tightly and placed it right next to his cheek, _her hands were indeed soft…_

The colonel returned the eraser back to his pocket, "I am a reckless person, and you know it, don't you lieutenant? You were always there by my side to stop me from making mistakes. You could have shot me in the head however you did not; instead you were willing to _die. _That word made my blood run cold, I could not face the prospect that I may lose you forever, and that thought was the one which calmed me down. I cannot let you die, bec…because you are also the reason to why I am living and breathing now, being the leader of a country is nothing if you weren't there by my side." His eyes burnt painfully, _gosh, he was crying again. What a wuss he was. _The colonel played with her long hair, letting each strand fall from his hand then taking repeating the motion. _He was going to say something that he may regret, but he had to say it…_

"If you can hear me now, lieu…no, Riza. I am not going to force you to return to my side, if what you are dreaming at this very moment is what you really want and it could make you happy, for once…"the colonel felt himself quaked at his own words. "You can sta…NO!" the colonel nearly screamed. He placed his arms around the lieutenant body and held her close to his chest. "I am sorry…I am a very selfish person, I can't bear watching you leave my life just like this so I am never letting you go this time, and I never going to give up. If you want happiness, please give me a chance to show you with the rest of my life that I am able to let you be truly happy!"

"Why don't you start by doing your work on time?" the colonel recoiled, it was a weak voice and it was familiar. He released his hug of the lieutenant's body and looked down. The pair of honey colored eyes which he had not seen for what seemed like an eternity glanced back, Riza struggled to smile properly, _How did her muscles get so tense? _ She watched as the colonel dark eyes regained its glow, his lips touched her dry ones. A single drop of tear slide from his eyes to her own cheeks, _don't be sad already, colonel. I am back here with you once again. _Her own hands made that extra effort to wipe that streak of water from his face, "It is not good to cry this much, Roy…" she whispered, it was the first time she called his name.

_Thank you, Roy…both of you…_

**Hohoho, this is not the end. There is still two more chapters coming, but I felt that some readers may not like draggy stories. In order not to bore them, I decided to reveal part of the ending here. **

**I appreciate reviews and comments. **

**Much sorries if it was badly written or the grammar is not of good standards, forgive me! I was in a rush too. (Sob sob). I will try my best to finish the other two as fast as possible! **


	10. Returning

The class room had turned cold and so did the blood within Riza's body, she was staring at the pink rose held between his fingers holding out to her. _What just happened? _Riza gulped as smoothly as she could however she could not, her heart was beating far too quickly now. Roy was staring at her smiling gently but still as serious, _this is wrong, I don't know this person. _He raised a hand and scratched the top of his black and messy hair making it unkempt but charming, _it is just like that person I saw, and he too had messy dark hair. _It was becoming clearer to her, that tall person was in a blue uniform and so was she, there was two file in her hands. She could see the name of each folders; someone called Edward and Alphonse Elric. The red seal of the King was imprinted on the Edward file, she watched as the person in front of her waving his arms around apparently pissed. "Why do I have to baby sit that brat?" he said angrily but she understood he wasn't. She just knew…

"What do you say?" Roy asked again though it was in a soft whisper, he had stopped the action of rubbing his head and was awaiting her answer patiently. _Those names are not the same as the Ed and AL from our class, their sir name weren't Elric; it was Von. _Riza was about to shake her head when she realized that Roy was not behind her any longer but was in front of her, he seemed to have ran out of patience. Roy placed a hand on Riza head. Strangely, Riza could not move, she could just stare. In her mind, she had flown to another scene. _That familiar room, a hospital room which she was in before; the person she had watched before was sitting next to the woman on the bed. He had his hand on her forehead as well, patting on it and nuzzling it with his own head. She could feel a strong gravity in his heart, unspoken sadness. He was thinking of something in his mind; he needed her…_

Riza felt a sudden force in front of her; she broke away from her hallucination. The whole situation was very strange, they were not in the class room any longer; instead they were in a smaller room with wooden walls and Riza was pressed to the wall behind her, Roy had pinned her, with his arms gripping her shoulders rather painfully. She thought both her collar bone could have snapped into many pieces. She threw her glance everywhere else besides her attackers face, they were in a house of some sort, there was a bed in the middle and the pink color rose from before was laying on the sheets, though now its petals was turned into a dark shade of red. The light that was shining in was also blood red, _nothing here made sense; the bell should have ringed a long time ago. Where were her friends? And the next teacher that was taking the next class? Someone please help her. _Ever since being pinned, she hadn't been able to move an inch or say a single word.

She could feel his warm breath on her neck; _it was as though she was having a fever, and everything was going warmer and warmer. Where his hands were all impropriate, and she does not like this, Roy wouldn't such a thing to her. _Tears were flowing from her eyes, not because of her situation; it was due to sudden realization of where she was and who that tall person in pain caring for the sick woman sleeping peacefully was. The kind person whom she knows that had the same name as this boy attacking her, Roy mustang. Flashes of memories came running into her frozen brain; _she was the Hawkeye where in the desert she was the sniper whom had to kill the people with red eyes and brown skin; she did not like the bloodshed however her soul was stained, that war had brought her ideals to the ground. However in her tower, she had shot one of those people from attacking two officers on the ground. One of which that she knew very well, the person will black hair and the secrets; that she trusted him with. After the war, she joined the military to be at this person side, he had his own goals and his promise to her was too rebuild a fallen desert country and re-do the policies of the existing one. His heart was pure and did his best to protect her. Therefore…therefore…_Riza felt a kiss on her neck and the hands which was groping everywhere else.

"STOP IT!" her voice had finally returned to her being, Roy jumped away surprised that she could still speak. Riza had opened her eyes to her immediate problem; her body was shaking as though an earthquake had erupted within her. She glared at the boy who stood up; his expression unreadable. "You still believe in him?" he asked her. Riza buttoned her shirt right back, though she was having some trouble as her hands were still trembling. She stared at his question, "Yes" _she had always believed in him, no matter how silly he was or how he procrastinate work to his subordinates. He was the hope she had, more than that…he was also an important person to her… _

The Roy nodded slowly though scowling at her answer, "We are disappearing…" he said as he peered himself in the mirror nearby, true enough, parts of himself was fading.

Riza stood up while she supported herself with the wall behind her; she was still afraid however there were still unanswered questions. "Why?"

Roy shook his head and shrugged, he held out a hand beckoning her to hold it back. But she held back, he walked to the door and opened it. Riza had to squint as bright light shone in; even covering her eyes did not help much. She felt it pulling her in, fearing that it was pulling her away to somewhere that she could not return. Riza refused to let go of the window grill. "Don't worry, hold my hand." She heard him shout, Roy was next to her holding out his own hand. _Should she take it? _Deciding to trust him, she placed her own in his. Roy squeezed it, the light was getting stronger. _Where are they going? _Everything in the room had disappeared; the two figures were in a limbo of some type. It was a long and colorful tube, and they were flying through. Roy taking the lead while Riza grasped his hand fearing to let go, soon they came to a distorted window. He opened the grill and gestured Riza to go through even though she afraid and apprehensive, she listened to him.

Both Roy and Riza landed to a place where Riza had been hallucinating previously, the hospital. She let go of their joined hands and walked towards the bed, currently there was no one in the room besides them and the woman in the bed. She approached the bed, somewhere in her heart she knew who the person was sleeping so soundly. It was her, Riza Hawkeye. _"Colonel! Get out of the way!" she shouted at the man standing defenselessly in the open. A large rock which was from the explosion earlier came crashing down. The man was not moving, Riza moved quickly through the other fallen rubble and shoved the stunned person out of harm way. –How could you have given this easily, it is not like you…-. _

The door behind them opened, Riza turned around and saw him entering. _Why are you in a mess, colonel? And you didn't shave today… _She watched as her disheveled superior, flame alchemist Roy mustang walk through her striding pass her towards her sleeping self. "We do not exist in this time flow." She heard Roy answering her unspoken question; _she was something similar to a ghost huh? _She sat on the chair opposite where the colonel had decided to seat, Roy, her oddball of a classmate was standing behind her. She heard what the colonel had to say, about the eraser. _Can't believe he went to dig a bin just to find that thing to keep it, _about the ring. About his recklessness_, Glad you know, sir…_she whispered to herself, smirking at the same time.

The colonel paused in his words; he was about to say something important. She can tell, but before she could listen further. Riza felt a tug on her sleeves, she glanced to her side, only to see Hayate, her sister looking at her. "Onee-chan…please don't go, don't leave us. You can stay with all of us forever and ever. Why do you want to go?" she asked half sobbing, Riza heart ached a little before sighing. "I am sorry, Hayate. I love to be with you and live a peaceful life too however that can only be a dream. You aren't real and I can't stay."

"Even not with your mother?" Riza was not surprised at the new figure that appeared next to her sister. Again, she shook her head. "I have always wanted you to return after you abandoned both father and myself, however when six years had passed; I realized that I could survive even without you by my side. In my memories though, you will always still be living right here" she spoke placing her hand at her heart "We can never be living together, that was just all a dream. I am needed here in my own world" unknown to Riza, her mother was smiling gently, _I am very proud of you, my dear. _Her mother faded away slowly.

"Onee-chan…" her sister had her head down though Riza could tell that she was still sobbing, she had to say something to assure her but Riza had no idea what to say, the next few words that she said though made Riza eyes burn.

"If there was a choice, I want to be your sister once again…I love you…" A few drops of tears slide down Riza cheeks and fell to the floor, she glanced side ways to see that her sister was fading away. _No, wait. She was a made believed sister but there was a relationship between the two of them, it may be fake but the ache in her heart existed. _"Wait!" Riza cried, she had her arms around the fading figure. Trying to hold her, but there was nothing left. Riza recoiled slightly, _Hayate… _

"Have you made your choice?" Roy asked her, she looked up and saw that Roy was not behind her any longer and was a couple of feet away from her. He was fading as well; several other silhouettes of people were standing next to him. Riza breathed deeply and nodded. She stood up and approached the group of fading people standing there; she faced Roy but addressed all of them.

"Thank you, all of you. It was the most beautiful dream I ever had…but it is just a dream, I am not staying. He needs me. _More like she needed him." _She said with immense gratitude and turned away from them, Riza approached her own sleeping body, and her body had been calling her back all this while. She must return. "Good luck, Onee-chan!" the last of the silhouettes disappeared.

Riza felt light, she was upset too but she knew that it was for the best. A dream will forever to be a dream, reality and the people who were waiting for her were more important. She woke a moment later peering into darkness, actually not really. She had been pressed into his chest as he hugged her tightly; _they are so going to be court marshaled. _"Give me a chance to show you with the rest of my life, they I can let you be truly happy!" She heard him shout above her head. Her heart was grinning even though her face could not.

"Why don't you start by doing your work on time?" she replied him weakly, she felt the pressure against her head release slightly. She glanced up words, was the room this bright? Riza saw vaguely the upset colonel face re written with a new emotion; relieved. She tried to beam at him in an attempt to assure him but her facial muscles seemed to have hardened, but without warning she felt his warm lips make contact with hers. The shock to feeling something this human sent tingling sensations down her spine, however she felt even more droplets of tears falling from his eyes to her cheeks. Her own eyes were however already dry, dried away during her trip back to her own body.

_This was the Roy Mustang that she knew, gentle and prone to over worrying. She had feared that she would not be able to see him again, feelings that she had tried to hid over such long years surfaced. Why was it so true, when only you are facing death that you realize what was truly important to you. _

"It is not good to cry this much, Roy." She finished and wiped away his streaks of tears. _There was nothing to lie or hide about. She Loved him, that was the truth and It was her feelings towards him that made her discover that the dream was not real. _

She watched sleepily as the colonel bounced away to the door, telling her that he would inform the rest that she had awakened. He asks her to rest a while and disappeared through the door, she stared at the ceiling. She was not sleepy, probably due to the fact she had slept too long already. Something too was weighing heavily in her mind… Hayate-chan…_ Did she really want a sister therefore she existed in her dream appearing to her as one. _And her mother too… _maybe it was time to visit her grave…_

Riza stifled a yawn and glanced at the door, _when is he coming back? _

The bright blue glow from the moon lighted her room from the windows; Riza breathed deeply and smelled strong disinfectant. _Oh my, this was surely the real world..._she grinned to herself, the dream world seemed to have none.

**Alright! I am done with the 10****th**** chapter; hope that most of you are pleased with the story so far!**

**I really want some reviews and comments! **

**Thank you all for staying with the story so far, the last chapter is coming up soon**

**XD…and school are also re opening soon…NOOOOOOO! (Sobbs) **

**HAhahaahahhaaa **


	11. My reality and The end

"Lieutenant! You are awake!" Riza heard the voice before she saw the source however she knew instinctively who it was. And sure enough, the door to her room slide open and the boy that he had not seen for over three years bounced in. _His golden hair tied in the pony tail however the red coat she was used to seeing was replaced with a brown jacket. _She smiled subtly as Edward beamed as he approached her bed side; behind him was another golden haired boy. He did not look like Edward seeing that he had no long hair, but he was Alphonse; the boy who used to be in an empty suit of armor that accompanied his brother side during their journey.

"How are you feeling?" Alphonse asked as he and his brother settled in the chairs next to her; she glanced at the two brothers, though the colonel refused to spill anything about what had happened during her extended sleep, she believed firmly that they had helped.

The third person who entered her room was lugging two children with her; a boy and a girl. The children seemed to have argued on the way to the room seeing that the younger was wailing and the older glaring angrily. The mother who looked torn between her babies immature wars smiled at the lieutenant for a brief moment before bending down to her children whispering into their ears, the younger one stopped wailing and the older one glance warily at the curious looking woman resting on the bed. "Good afternoon to you, Auntie Riza!" Both of them said addressing her; though their faces seemed to have fear written on them.

Winry grinned happily and spoke Riza with a softened voice while Edward carried the younger child to his lap. "I told them that you would punish them harshly if they didn't stop arguing." Riza smirked _winry-chan is so sneaky after having children. _Riza peered at the older child who stood next to her bed; he looks exactly how Edward was when he was younger, the same determined golden eyes though a lot smaller. "Theo, right?" she addressed him. Theo jumps in surprise that the Auntie knew his name and nodded curtly. She turned to the little one who was being entertained by Edward; "You shouldn't fight with your sister, she is your only sister isn't it?" _Hayate flashed through her mind _"You should hold her close right now when you have the chance, because…" Riza wanted to put in _if she leaves you, she would not come back. _But that seemed to be not a message she should tell a young child. "Because…she is family."

Edward and Alphonse glanced at the lieutenant as both remembered what the colonel told them last night. "She had been through a lot so try not to remind her about it". Edward had a vague idea of what not to remind, he too knew that the lieutenant had not a very complete family to start with. "Alright then, Alphonse, Nina, Theo. Lets' go to the cafeteria ok? I am quite hungry!" he nearly shouted scaring the lieutenant a little, he grinned kindly at her, dragged his two kids and the confused Al out. "Winry, you aren't hungry right?" he said and caught her stare. _I understand, don't worry. I will stay here. _She shook her head vigorously "Nope, I am fine! Take your time, and Nina need to drink her milk on time, kay?" the door closed with a snap. Edward who were dragging the group down the corridor, slightly amused. _Take care of her for now, Winry. _Alphonse glared at his brother, "I understand why you are leaving them alone, can you stop gripping me already?" he said trying his best to loosen his brother's grabbing. _He wasn't a suit of armor, it hurts. _They were untangling from each other, when another person walked over bemused at what he was looking at.

"You brought a crowd with you huh? Edward…" he spoke with a hint of irony. Nina and Theo could only stare at the strange tall man who had dark hair, "Who are you?" squeaked the curious girl. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of Edward neck. _What is he going to say? A soldier? Colonel? An Alchemist? Edward did not want his kids to know about his relationship with this person, nor the lives that he been through and what he did for the military. Not yet, it is too soon. He still needed to keep their innocence as long as he could. _

"I am a friend." Edward's mouth fell open; he was expecting a lot more bragging or explanation, not that word. The colonel was actually smiling and carrying the younger girl in his arm, the little girl did not reject instead she was having fun. He was tickling her cheeks with his stubble, strangely she was laughing and not disgusted. _Looks like Nina inherited Winry's fearless attitude. _

"Daddy! Your friend is funny!" she screeched happily in the strange man's arms. Theo was lingering around; his face was of obvious unhappiness, _Hey, uncle! That is my sister! _was what he was emitting from his glare.

The colonel placed the girl back to the ground and patted her head, "You have got fine kids, Ed."

Edward who had been stunned felt stung by the colonel words, _you sound as though I couldn't have fine kids. _However he still forced a smile to appear on his face and snorted "Of course"

"Are you going to the lieutenant's room?" Alphonse interrupted sensing that the situation was a little strange.

Meanwhile, Winry had sat on the edge of Riza's bed. She passed a large box to her hands. "Here, Apple pie from Gracia." And Oh, Elysia had a message she said she wanted to tell you. Winry pulled something small from her pocket and dropped it onto Riza's palm. Riza admired the little gift; it was tiny recording device that had a smiling face on it. She pressed the yellow button, "Auntie Riza, Get well soooooooooon! Uncle Roy needs you to nag him and we want to see you againnnnnnnn! The next few seconds seemed to be little elysia kissing the recorder" and the recorded track ended. Riza could not help but grin, _Elysia-chan. You are so adorable, Maes would be very proud. Thank you for your message. _

Riza removed her gaze from the gift and looked at Winry who was beaming as well, she leaned sideways and whispered in her ears, "So…have you realized your feelings?" Riza widened her eyes and contemplates slightly flustered at the same time as the blue eyes glistered happily at her embarrassment. Her voice went serious for a while, "Get together already, how slow you two want to be?" Her words made Riza fondle her fingers a little, her body was turning warm. _She had realized her feelings for him, but they are in the military after all. They can't be together. _

Riza was about to speak when the door slide open with urgency, both of them spin around to see the colonel standing at the door, there was a bunch of white Primroses in one of his hand. Riza blushed unwillingly; _did he know what does a primrose mean? _ Winry stood up all of the sudden, "Ah, time for me to go now and Major Armstrong will be visiting later in the day. Good luck!" Riza blinks a couple of time, _why good luck? _She watched as winry bounced away leaving her mountain of gifts behind and grinned upon seeing the colonel's flustered face, she left the room positively glowing.

The colonel who had ran down to her room leaving the Elric Brothers and kids back in corridor felt a wave of awkwardness as he stood there, Riza was also observing him. "Why don't you come in?" she asked surprising the colonel at the same time, he had noticed her blush therefore winry must have asked her the same question as well. She wanted him to be near her, does it mean that she…

"Colonel, would you please come in?" she said with a hint of irritation. At her words, he remembered something else that he had to tell her. He closed the door behind him and made his way to the just vacated seat but he lingered around it. "What did you and winry talk about?" he inquired hoping that he did not sound suspicious. Riza gulped, _um…um…Apple pie, Elysia's cute recording…and her conflicted feelings…_ "Nothing much, she was just telling me that she was worried about us…no, about me". Riza could not help but stammer her words; _oh no she is feeling warm again. Why did they have to talk about that, she lo…loves Roy, that is the truth but they can't be together. It is not her to be caught up in emotional thoughts, can't my heart stop beating so hard. _

_How ignorant do you think that I am, Lieutenant? You hardly stammer in this manner, Winry must have asked you that question; how did you answer? I really want to know, if I could finally not be that newspaper thrown at your door and left as such. _"It is alright, if you don't want to tell me. It is girls talk after all. " The colonel assured the lieutenant and opened the lunch box that was from Gracia; her apple pie seemed to be a bit puffier compared to the usual one. "It smells nice, are you hungry?" he asked peering her face, but to his surprise. Her eyes were red and she was trembling. The colonel had almost dropped the pie to the floor as he rushed to her side, "What is wrong? Are you not feeling well? Come on, you can tell me…" as he pulled her head close to his own, "Hush Hush, is something hurting? Don't cry, tell me what is bothering you." His voice was shaking on its own; _was it something he said? What on earth did he do to make her sad? _He nuzzled the top of her head and rubbed the sides of her cheeks gently with his other hand, wondering if he should call a doctor.

"I love you. Idiot." Riza spoke into his chest, tears tricking down furiously from her eyes. The words struck the colonel cold, _Woah. She is crying because she lo…loves me? Is loving me that horrible?_

Riza who was buried in his chest had a sinking feeling that the words that left her mouth might have given him the wrong message; she pulled away from the colonel's arms slightly. "You aren't that horrible, I love you, Roy (Avoiding his eyes), but the military is not going to approve and Grandfather, I mean Fuhrer Grumman especially; would not let any personnel get together this way." She ended the sentence with her head down, _wait…she doesn't know how he felt about her. What if he does not reciprocate the feeling…_

Before, she could think further. She felt his fingers caressing her cheeks; he lifted her face up so that it was facing his own. To her amazement, he laughed. Riza was mortified. "What are you laughing about, I am serious here!" she scolded him for taking her feeling lightly. "I know, I just remembered what I needed to tell you. _You are looking at the new Fuhrer of Amestris." _He whispered in her ear, still grinning.

Riza gasped and gaped, "Is that true?"

He hugged her around the head, "Grumman seemed to have made his decision last night, _when you woke up. _And now, you don't have to worry. I know which stinking Law to abolish right away…" Roy beamed at her, the fraternization one of course.

"Hic…Hic…" Roy recoiled slightly and realized that Riza had a sudden strange fit of hiccups, _so adorable. _He let her go and went to the jug nearby in order to get her a cup of water. Riza; though was still trying to speak to him.

"Sir, Hic…now you are the Fuhrer, hic…you can't procrastinate work whenever you like, hic…"Riza rolled her eyes and coughed. _Why is she having hiccups now? _

Roy, who returned to her side with the cup of water and passed it to her, "Yea…yea…that is if you are the lieutenant however if you are by my side as the Fuhrer's wife. The things you have to nag about won't be this."

Riza was nearly choked by the drink; however she recovered quickly. "The Fuhrer's wife?" she said twitching badly due to the quick gulps.

"I love you too, Riza, so very much. I don't have the ring to prove it, but I am as serious as you when you are holding a gun. Do you get it now?" Roy replied beaming however Riza frowned. She beckoned him to come closer and whispered something into his ears.

Roy got up from his chair and pulled open the door, not very surprised that a dozen of people came crashing to the floor. Besides his own subordinates, Edward & Al, Winry, Major Armstrong, even Sheska and Denny Brosh had taken up the bad habit to eavesdrop at people's door. He twirled around "Hey, you were right. There were mice scratching at the door." Riza laughed.

The people at were at the door looked embarrassed but Roy forgave them, they trooped into the room and gave both Roy and Riza words of congrats. Young Theo and Nina; though not understanding the situation well enough congratulated the both of them. And encouraged them to give them a new sister or brother to play with, the crowd roared with laughter at their innocent words. Riza blushed deeply.

_This is my world indeed; the people I love and care about are all here. _Riza peered at Roy who was receiving nudges at his rib by the Elric brothers. _I am glad that this is my reality._

_P.s; Hayate-chan & Mother; from wherever you are please watch over me. I love you both. _


	12. Afterthoughts

**Hi online friends, this story had officially ended. I never liked to details endings, so if there were some of you who were expecting a wedding scene or Roy and Riza Child or children to appear. I am so sorry, there isn't going to be such a thing. **

**Importantly, today is a wonderful and meaningful day. It is the first time ever that I had actually finished a story with this much chapters, most grateful to friends who have been commenting constantly on most chapters; I was motivated to write because of you all. Thank you very much. **

**Lastly; I wish that this would not be only few stories that I would write, I will try my best to continue writing though my holiday is almost over. You guys will hear from me again, somehow. **

**I am also keeping track of the stories that you all are writing as well. **

**Once again, thank you very much. **


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